In just this election cycle alone, Mark S. Kirk has called Sen. Lindsey Graham a “bro with no ho,” suggested people drive faster through African-American neighborhoods, and said that Americans killed in a terrorist attack “should be laid at the feet of the Democratic caucus.”

And yet, on Thursday night, the Republican senator from Illinois made his most notorious comment yet.

Illinois Sen. Mark S. Kirk has responded to the Chicago Tribune’s editorial board that cited his stroke as a reason not to endorse him last week.

The Tribune chose to endorse the Republican senator's opponent, Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth. While the editorial said Kirk's 2012 stroke was not disqualifying, “we cannot tiptoe around the issue of Kirk’s recovery and readiness.”

Illinois Republican Sen. Mark S. Kirk's campaign called the Chicago Tribune's citing of his stroke as a reason to endorse his challenger, Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a "cheap shot."

"We are saddened to say we did not see that energetic, policy-driven Kirk when we met with him Oct. 3 for an endorsement interview," the newspaper editorial said. "While a stroke by no means disqualifies anyone from public office, we cannot tiptoe around the issue of Kirk's recovery and readiness."